Although it was alleged that the DraftKings employee was using insider information, there are actually many ways to determine player ownership without being employed by DraftKings or FanDuel. Every Thursday night, DFS players are able to view the ownership percentages for the $1 buy-in Mini Dive GPP at FanDuel. Obviously these numbers can change in the days leading up to kickoff on Sunday’s, but it gives us a solid sample as to which players are being highly owned.

We should note that low ownership percentages alone don’t mean that a player is offering value; however, if you’re comparing two players with similar expected value you should always select the player with a lower ownership percentage. Perhaps the best explanation of how DFS players can utilize these ownership percentages comes from Brett Collson; the editor-in-chief at FantasyWired.com.

“In big DFS tournaments, knowing ownership percentages in advance would be far more beneficial in a sport like hockey or baseball, because the stats are far less predictive from night to night. If game results are more difficult to predict, there’s added incentive in creating a unique lineup with less popular players to separate yourself from the herd. Knowing the ownership percentages ahead of time would create a huge advantage in building these contrarian lineups.”

Using the Week 9 ownership percentages from FanDuel’s Week 9 Mini Dive and the tools over at Fantasy Labs, we determined the most undervalued tournament picks for DraftKings players.

Quarterback

Player

Opponent

Ownership %

FD Salary

DK Salary

Tom Brady

Redskins

14.4

$9,500

$8,500

Drew Brees

Titans

9.2

$8,500

$7,200

Philip Rivers

Bears

7.9

$8,600

$6,900

Eli Manning

@Buccaneers

7.3

$7,800

$6,900

Ben Roethlisberger

Raiders

4.9

$8,300

$6,600

Matt Ryan

@ 49ers

3.1

$8,000

$7,100

Tyrod Taylor

Dolphins

2.9

$7,200

$5,300

Cam Newton

Packers

2.0

$7,900

$6,900

Peyton Manning

@ Colts

1.8

$7,700

$6,300

Aaron Rodgers

@ Panthers

0.9

$8,900

$7,400

Bettors may be interested to know that Philip Rivers ($6,900) has the most Pro Trends at Fantasy Labs; however, he had the third highest ownership percentage in the Week 9 Mini Dive. For this reason he’s probably a better value for double-ups and small tournaments than for larger tourneys.

Perhaps the most interesting name listed is Aaron Rodgers ($7,400), who was owned in less than one percent of all rosters. Carolina’s defense has been terrific this season and Rodgers is coming off arguably the worst game of his career (77 yards passing at Denver) which makes him an excellent buy-low candidate. Rodgers has also triggered 7 Pro Trends — tied for the fourth most among quarterbacks.

Looking for a sneakier play? How about Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota. The rookie signal caller is expected to start despite a lingering knee injury, and has an excellent matchup against a New Orleans defense that gave up 350 yards and 6 touchdowns to Eli Manning last week. Mariota costs just $5,300 at DraftKings this week and has triggered 9 Pro Trends which ranks second among all quarterbacks. Considering that Mariota doesn’t even appear on this ownership chart, he could be an excellent Week 9 play.

Running Back

Player

Opponent

Ownership %

FD Salary

DK Salary

Devonta Freeman

@ 49ers

25.7

$8,900

$8,000

DeAngelo Williams

Raiders

23.8

$6,500

$5,500

Todd Gurley

@ Vikings

13.8

$9,000

$6,900

Mark Ingram

Titans

13.5

$7,700

$6,500

Doug Martin

Giants

10.3

$7,100

$5,700

Chris Ivory

Jaguars

10.2

$7,500

$5,900

Jeremy Langford

@ Chargers

9.9

$6,400

$4,000

Darren McFadden

Eagles

9.7

$6,500

$4,300

Dion Lewis

Redskins

6.5

$7,400

$6,400

Lamar Miller

@ Bills

4.2

$6,900

$5,000

LeGarrette Blount

Redskins

4.1

$6,400

$4,800

Jonathan Stewart

Packers

3.8

$6,600

$4,300

Ronnie Hillman

@ Colts

3.8

$6,400

$4,600

DeMarco Murray

@ Cowboys

3.5

$7,500

$6,400

LeSean McCoy

Dolphins

3.0

$7,800

$5,500

Latavius Murray

@ Steelers

2.5

$7,000

$6,000

Adrian Peterson

Rams

2.3

$8,400

$7,300

C.J. Anderson

@ Colts

1.1

$6,000

$4,100

Melvin Gordon

Bears

1.1

$6,100

$4,000

T.J. Yeldon

@ Jets

1.1

$6,400

$4,800

There have been 9 Pro Trends triggered on Devonta Freeman ($8,000), however, he’s the most owned running back this week. This means that Freeman is offering value, but should likely be avoided in larger tournaments. The same can be said about Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams who is underpriced at just $5,500.

One running back that I love is Eagles RB DeMarco Murray, who will return to Dallas this week to face his former team. There have been 8 Pro Trends triggered on Murray, who has picked up his production in recent weeks. Murray managed just 47 rushing yards in his first three games of the season but has totaled 260 rushing yards in his past three games. The 5th year running back is owned in just 3.5% of leagues which could make him an interesting play.

Wide Receiver

Player

Opponent

Ownership %

FD Salary

DK Salary

Alshon Jeffery

@ Chargers

21.8

$7,900

$6,700

Odell Beckham Jr.

@ Buccaneers

19.1

$9,000

$8,800

Malcom Floyd

Bears

17.6

$6,100

$3,900

Antonio Brown

Raiders

15.2

$8,700

$8,100

Julio Jones

@ 49ers

14.2

$9,200

$9,300

Michael Crabtree

@ Steelers

14.2

$5,800

$4,900

Steve Johnson

Bears

14.0

$5,400

$3,200

Amari Cooper

@ Steelers

13.4

$7,300

$6,700

Mike Evans

Giants

10.4

$7,500

$6,800

Jarvis Landry

@ Bills

9.5

$7,000

$6,300

Julian Edelman

Redskins

9.5

$8,000

$8,200

Tavon Austin

@ Vikings

9.1

$5,700

$4,800

Demaryius Thomas

@ Colts

7.5

$8,400

$7,500

Brandin Cooks

Titans

7.4

$7,100

$5,800

Martavis Bryant

Raiders

7.0

$6,900

$5,500

Brandon LaFell

Redskins

5.3

$5,200

$3,200

Allen Robinson

@ Jets

4.9

$7,200

$6,400

Eric Decker

Jaguars

3.8

$6,300

$5,300

Randall Cobb

@ Panthers

3.8

$7,400

$6,800

Rishard Matthews

@ Bills

3.6

$6,500

$4,500

Willie Snead

Titans

3.4

$6,100

$4,800

Emmanuel Sanders

@ Colts

3.3

$7,600

$7,300

Stefon Diggs

Rams

2.6

$7,400

$5,300

Jordan Matthews

@ Cowboys

1.8

$6,300

$6,400

Pierre Garcon

@ Patriots

1.6

$6,300

$5,000

Allen Hurns

@ Jets

1.5

$6,800

$5,300

Brandon Marshall

Jaguars

1.5

$8,100

$7,600

Dez Bryant

Eagles

1.4

$7,900

$7,900

Donte Moncrief

Broncos

1.0

$6,400

$5,400

Sammy Watkins

Dolphins

0.6

$6,200

$5,000

The most interesting deep sleeper this week is Marques Colston, who seems criminally underpriced at $3,100. Last week Colston hauled in 8 receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown yet he doesn’t even appear on the ownership report. Although the Saints obviously won’t be able to repeat last week’s offensive output, oddsmakers are still anticipating a high-scoring game with an over/under of 48.

Another interesting name is Packers WR Randall Cobb ($6,800) who was owned by just 3.8% of all teams in last night’s tournament. After a blistering start to the season, Cobb has cooled off in recent weeks and could be an another excellent buy-low candidate. There have been a number of Pro Trends triggered on Cobb, so DFS players may want to consider stacking Rodgers and Cobb as two undervalued contrarian plays.

Tight End

Player

Opponent

Ownership %

FD Salary

DK Salary

Rob Gronkowski

Redskins

13.0

$8,500

$8,000

Benjamin Watson

Titans

12.2

$5,700

$4,000

Antonio Gates

Bears

9.5

$6,000

$4,700

Greg Olsen

Packers

6.1

$6,400

$6,500

Jordan Reed

@ Patriots

5.6

$5,700

$4,500

Heath Miller

Raiders

4.9

$5,800

$2,700

Martellus Bennett

@ Chargers

3.4

$5,400

$4,900

Vernon Davis

@ Colts

2.4

$4,900

N/A

Charles Clay

Dolphins

1.8

$5,700

$4,200

Julius Thomas

@ Jets

0.6

$5,600

$4,200

People seem to be forgetting that Ben Roethlisberger is back, because Steelers TE Heath Miller ($2,700) is both underpriced and underowned. The 11-year veteran has 20 receptions for 204 yards in the three games Big Ben has played from start to finish but just 7 receptions for 69 yards in the other five games. Miller was owned by just 4.9% of managers in the Mini Dive and fits 12 Pro Trends — the most among tight ends.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who did not appear in the ownership report, is another fantastic value at $2,800.

Defense/Special Teams

Team

Opponent

Ownership %

FD Salary

DK Salary

Broncos

@ Colts

17.2

$5,300

$3,000

Falcons

@ 49ers

10.9

$4,900

$3,400

Patriots

Redskins

9.1

$4,900

$3,300

Jets

Jaguars

8.6

$4,700

$3,100

Eagles

@ Cowboys

4.4

$4,700

$2,700

Rams

@ Vikings

4.2

$5,100

$3,500

Panthers

Packers

2.4

$4,400

$3,200

Bills

Dolphins

1.4

$4,700

$2,900

Packers

@ Panthers

0.9

$4,800

$3,200

Vikings

Rams

0.9

$4,700

$3,100

This week’s most popular play is the Broncos D/ST ($3,000) which was owned by nearly a fifth of managers in Thursday night’s Mini Dive. Denver ranks second in the league in takeaways while their opponent, Indianapolis, ranks second in giveaways. They have also triggered 6 Pro Trends, which makes them an excellent play in smaller tournaments and double ups.

Looking for more contrarian value? How about the Chargers? San Diego has a favorable matchup against a Bears offense that ranks 26th in points per game and will be playing without arguably their best player in running back Matt Forte. We have also seen the total drop from 52 to 49 at CRIS despite 72% of bettors taking the over. This indicates that sharp money loves the under, and there could be less scoring than originally anticipated. With a low ownership percentage and 6 Pro Trends, the Chargers D/ST looks like a fantastic play this week.

We stress that contrarian value is only one factor to consider, and it’s significantly more important in tournaments than cash games. We also want to remind players that variances in pricing between DraftKings and FanDuel can also skew these ownership rates.

Daily Fantasy players looking for additional information and advice should make sure to check out Fantasy Labs for access to Pro Models, Lineup Optimizer and other unique data for your Week 9 lineup.

Have any questions for the staff at Sports Insights? Utilize our live chat to speak with a customer service representative or e-mail us at help@sportsinsights.com.

David Solar is the Content Manager for Sports Insights and can be reached directly at David@sportsinsights.com.